The Astonishing Cravenness of the RSC

On Friday this blog broke the news of a paper being circulated by the Republican Study Committee, the House’s conservative caucus. Authored by staffer Derek Khanna, it laid out the case for copyright reform in stark terms that seemed to mark an honest effort on the part of the party to at least consider the failings of the current system.

Within a day the paper was pulled from the Internet by the RSC and an apology was issued, claiming it was “published without adequate review.” But the notion that the paper just showed up on the website of the Republican Study Committee without approval is absurd. Far more likely, as Mike Masnick points out, is that the RIAA and MPAA had a morning full of very stern phone calls to staffers and legislators, and the RSC folded.

Keep in mind that this is just a working document that didn’t indicate any kind of formal change in policy from the GOP. Taking it down is tantamount to saying these ideas don’t even deserve discussion.

Mr. Khanna has probably been instructed by his superiors to keep quiet about the incident. But he responded on a Reddit thread about the paper prior to it being taken down, providing some vital context:

I wrote this memo intending to start a much broader conversation, so I am the first to admit that it is a work in progress. It will take work to come to a sensible copyright system in this country, and I hope that putting this idea on the board will start a much longer conversation by recognizing that copyright is a goldilocks-like balance. And in answer to one persons post, patent reform is also absolutely vital — real patent reform.

…

No one requested it. I just thought it was a good idea. I freely acknowledge that the “solutions” are imperfect. In fact they weren’t in an earlier version at all, but I thought it better to put some tangible ideas on the board as to what I actually meant. It’s one thing to talk about problems and another to start to identify solutions. And then even another battle to get it into legislative text.

The RSC’s attempt to shut this all down appears to have failed; copies of the paper are now widely available. In several comment sections in stories about it, commenters wrote that such a policy shift would be reason enough to vote for the GOP, and that if the paper had signaled a change in policy the party would be on the right track to deserve to govern again. Even if that’s an exaggeration, this is an issue that young voters find increasingly important, and the RSC’s unwillingness to even entertain discussion won’t look good to them.

On a broader level, a GOP that’s serious about Tim Carney-esque free-market populism would have to address IP reform, which nearly always works to the benefit of entrenched market interests at the expense of new entrants. Jerry Brito has even gone so far as to make the comparison between copyright and Solyndra.

GOP leaders who embrace Internet culture + copyright reform may be one of the easiest things we can do to win over young voters.

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5 Responses to The Astonishing Cravenness of the RSC

While I was being rather light hearted in my comments, the root of it is true: this issue alone would make me really appreciate the party more, and that’s as someone who isn’t a single-issue voter. Not only is the issue a big thorn in my side, but I was also very interested in how it came from a conservative mindset (normally, the idea comes from a Liberal bent: big bad business hogging all of the resources and not letting The People invent without being super rich). I then wondered if it was a revamping of conservatism in the way this and other blogs have mentioned: not giving it up to ‘moderation’ but revisiting the platform to see how it matches up with the original idea and how it can better fit the modern era.

To say that this doesn’t look good on the GOP is an understatement. Those who do believe in conservatism should really stop looking at the ‘enemy’ on the other side (and stop trying to ‘become the enemy’ as well. We have enough Liberals as it is. We need a counterweight, not a Yes Man). Instead, look deeply at your party and decide if it really is keeping with your interests, and, if not, what will.

If the answer is to abandon them for another, then yes it’ll mean giving up power for a time as that side implodes. However, if you must tear down your home to build another, you might as well start preparations now for a good temporary motel.

If the answer is to fix them, then get the word out. The Tea Party showed that a small group can change the whole. This election showed that you can still win even if you are outspent. Bah, SOPA showed how devastating a groundswell rising up can be.

In fact, perhaps we can start here. The RSC made the mistake of thinking that an internet document can be removed. Show them how out of date they are. Spread that document around. Bah, show it to the Liberal groups, at least the ones that aren’t content just to use this as “let’s make fun of Them again” and want to do something. Let’s keep Khanna’s wishes intact: a real discussion on this matter.

rather than “astonishing” maybe better to say “entirely predictable and true to form”. The GOP is so utterly addicted to the interests of big business that it is not likely (until there is a substantial change in leaders) to buck the interests of its money spigots.

The purpose of the major parties is to keep us alarmed, voting and donating, while preventing anything that might upset the coalition of Big Bureaucracy, Big Business and Big Unions that run the country for their own benefit.

Since the country can clearly can not sustain the current weight of feudalist parasites, every individual group of leeches is sensitive to the possibility that its particular government teat might be taken away. Even the discussion of the possibility that its government-granted privileges might better be reduced than eternally increased must be violently rejected. And remember, the parties work for their masters, not us.

Might as well use up a little more time on this and created a WH petition. It’s less to try to force change and more just to get the word out. Major rule of the internet: the more places it’s added to, the more it can spread. Besides, I’m not well connected (at all) to FB/Twitter/youtube so I’ll have to work what I have.